Found, Never Lost

Interlude: Liaison Dangereuse

Monday, June 21, 2004
Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England

December 1, 2001

Chère Narcisse,

Thank you very much for your kind invitation I am always delighted to hear from you, especially when you have such wonderful news. You must be very proud of your son and his upcoming graduation from so renowned an institute as the Academy in Prague.

Unfortunately, my husband's duties as newly appointed Headmaster of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic will make it impossible for him to attend the reception in Mr. Malfoy's honour. However, our son Richard will be able to accompany Viviane and me to Paris.

We are looking very much forward to meeting you and to making your son's acquaintance at the ball in June.

Votre amie,

Geneviève de St. Croix

"Would mistress like some more tea?"

A little annoyed by the disruption, Narcissa Malfoy looked up from her davenport.

"Yes, Dunky, more tea would be fine."

"And where would mistress like to take her lunch today?"

"In the drawing room. At noon. And I am not to be interrupted until then."

"As mistress wishes."

The house-elf curtsied respectfully and disappeared as silently as she had entered.

Narcissa turned her attention back to the old letters she'd been reading.

June 28, 2002

Ma chère Narcisse,

First of all, let me thank you for the wonderful evening last Saturday. Viviane was very excited to attend her first ball and we both enjoyed every minute.

It was such a pleasure to see you again, dear friend, and to find you well and in good spirits. My husband sends his regards. He has asked me to renew our invitation to visit us here in St. Croix. The lovely gardens and vineyards of our peaceful little corner of France would certainly agree with you, and we look forward to your acceptance as soon as your son will be able to handle your affairs by himself for a while.

Mr. Malfoy seems a very promising young man, and I am happy to inform you that Viviane approves of our choice for her - which, of course, comes as no surprise, as he has obviously inherited his mother's wit, his father's charm, and both his parents' handsomeness.

Both Monsieur de St. Croix and I hope to be able to discuss further details with you in person. We are convinced that we will come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Bien amicalement,

Geneviève de St. Croix

She had exchanged owls with Geneviève de St. Croix on a regular basis since her former classmate from Madame Montblanc's Finishing School had approached her with a polite inquiry about the possibility of a future alliance between their families. In other words, she had - in a well-disguised, cautious manner - offered her daughter Viviane's hand in marriage to Draco.

Traditionally, such contacts were initiated by the groom's father. Unfortunately, circumstances got in the way of tradition these days. Lucius' imprisonment and the family's abysmal downfall after their Lord's defeat had shattered the majority of their connections. Many of the families who had been on their side since long before the conflict wanted nothing to do with them nowadays because they had suffered worse than the Malfoys after the fall of the Dark Lord.

Lucius was one of the few who had covered his tracks well enough to be spared the full wrath of the Ministry. Of course, the years in prison had been anything but easy for him, but the absence of the Dementors had made it possible to conduct most of his business as usual, especially since the members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad who guarded Azkaban now were under strict orders from the Ministry to treat the prisoners "humanely".

Even so, Narcissa was well aware that without the intervention of that onerous Potter and his mudblood friend Granger, they would have had to flee the country and their fortune most likely would have ended up in the Ministry's vaults at Gringotts. The resentment about this fact was possibly the only link that still connected them with families like the Parkinsons, Crabbes, and Goyles.

As it was, they'd only had to pay a certain amount into a compensation fund for the victims of the conflict. True, it had been a substantial heap of galleons, but thanks to Lucius' cleverness, they were still better off than Death Eaters who had been sentenced to ten or more years in Azkaban. After paying reparations, the estates of those convicts were legally transferred to family members who had opposed Voldemort and his followers or had remained neutral. Their business dealings then had to be authorised by a special committee under the supervision of the head financial advisor at Gringotts for the duration of ten years.

For all other prisoners, the procedure had been less severe: the legal status of their estates remained unchanged and their families continued their business affairs. Transactions did not have to be approved, although they were supervised by the committee, who had the right to intervene if necessary. Once the prisoners were released, the committee continued to monitor their transactions for five years, but if they wanted to interfere in any way, they needed the permission of the Wizengamot. Only if a convicted Death Eater had no family or heirs, his or her property was forfeit and the entire proceeds were put into the compensation fund.

She turned a quill between her fingers and silently cursed Potter again. It galled her to no end that she felt... indebted to the insufferable brat. She also cursed the Death Eater who had cast that shameful bonding spell on Potter and Draco. She particularly cursed the fact that she could not hex the damnable coward inside-out anymore because he had committed suicide in Azkaban. Although, hexing him would not change the fact that Draco had become so attached to his spouse in the few months of their bond that he had continued seeing him after the unbonding. She was still convinced that this had been against Draco's better judgment and she had tried to prevent her husband from doing anything rash when they learned about the boys' ongoing relationship. Unfortunately, anger had won over prudence and Lucius had punished his son severely.

Narcissa felt unable to sit still any longer. She rose and started pacing the room. It was a beautiful day. Sunshine danced through the high windows and a pleasant breeze played with the curtains, carrying the sweet smell of roses. She stepped onto the little balcony that looked out over her flower garden and sighed, still playing with the quill. As much as she loved her son, her loyalty belonged first and foremost to her husband and the Malfoy family. She had not been able to side with Draco in this. She had tried her best to explain to him why his father had acted the way he did, but she had few illusions about her success. Father and son were very much alike in their pride and stubbornness. Much to her chagrin - although not to her surprise - there had been no reconciliation between the two before Draco left for the Academy.

And then the Order had defeated the Dark Lord and everything they had worked for had collapsed.

Her only consolation was that at least the disastrous affair between her son and Potter was finally over. Lucius had insisted she keep an eye on their son while he was in Prague, but Draco made no attempt to contact his former spouse. And Potter did not try to get in touch with Draco, either - although it would have been almost impossible for him to find Draco: Lucius had kept his plans for their son secret until Draco returned from Hogwarts, and once he had left, they had made sure nobody knew where he had gone. There had been a short period of uncertainty when Potter disappeared and they had kept Draco under close observation for several months afterwards, but nothing happened. Potter remained missing. Draco continued his studies and submitted to his father's wish that he spend his semester breaks learning as much as possible about the family business, which - despite a visible lack of enthusiasm - he accomplished quickly and efficiently. And eventually, Lucius had agreed to dismiss the spies.

June 17, 2004

Ma chère Narcisse,

Mon Dieu! Has it really been three months since my last owl? Please forgive me! My only excuse is that the preparations for Viviane's leaving ceremony at Madame Montblanc's and her birthday so shortly afterwards have occupied my every minute these past few weeks.

The whole family is looking forward to seeing you and your son at Viviane's coming-of-age ball at Châteaux de St. Croix on September 24^th. Please send word soon as to when we may expect you, so that I can have your rooms prepared.

It is very unfortunate indeed that your husband will not be able to accompany you this time. Please tell him that Monsieur de St. Croix sends his best regards and is eager to make his acquaintance as soon as circumstances permit.

And now, dear friend, I am afraid that duty calls again. I honestly do not remember our mothers making so much ado when you and I finished Madame Montblanc's!

Votre amie,

Geneviève de St. Croix

She sighed.

When Draco received an invitation from his old Potions master in Prague to attend an exclusive seminar on medical potions, she was glad that he had a chance to get out of the Manor for a little while before their visit to St. Croix in September. She knew that her son was unhappy and suffered from lack of social contacts. The boy shouldn't be locked up here all the time. He needed to get out, meet people his own age who didn't shun him because he was a Malfoy, and if that meant he had to leave the country, then so be it.

She had sent him happily on his way and would still be happy for him if their family solicitor hadn't tried to get in touch with him over the weekend regarding an urgent business matter - only to have his owl returned this morning with the original message still attached to her leg, carrying a polite note from the Potions master that there was no seminar and that he hadn't seen Draco since last year.

The quill snapped.

She could not shake off the ominous feeling that this might have something to do with Potter, may the Harpies take him! Why else would Draco lie to her?

Of course, there was a slim chance that nothing would come out of an encounter between the two, but she had learned enough about bonding spells to know that affection between ex-spouses could very easily flare back up, especially if the relationship had been intensely... physical. And from what Lucius had told her after meeting the boys at Hogwarts one afternoon, there had definitely been no lack of attraction between them, no matter how much Draco had tried to dismiss it as merely "not actively fighting the bond anymore".

She flung the halves of the broken quill off the balcony, Incendio'd them with a flick of her wand - and regretted it instantly as the stench of smoldering feather overpowered the fragrant breeze from the garden. Disgusted, she stepped back inside and slammed the door shut.

"Your tea is served, mistress," Dunky announced.

"Thank you," Narcissa said curtly. "Now please do not disturb me again until lunchtime."

"Certainly, mistress." The house-elf curtsied and disappeared again.

Narcissa continued to pace the room, debating whether or not to inform Lucius about Draco's disappearance and her suspicions. Finally, she decided to wait until she had more information. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe Draco had simply stolen off to meet Pansy Parkinson. Yes, that was certainly a possibility. She knew that the two had been more than just housemates and friends at Hogwarts. Maybe they were continuing their... trysts. From what she had heard, the Parkinsons were trying to find a suitable husband for their daughter, which would explain why Draco hadn't told her where he was going. He had always been discreet about his affairs.

However, no matter what was going on, there were certain things that needed to be taken care of right away. If played right, all might not be lost yet. She sat back down, plucked a piece of parchment from the stack for special occasions, selected a new quill, and began to compose a reply to Geneviève de St. Croix.